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An early mess for SC?

An attentive blog reader brought this to my attention, but we are currently in a recruiting dead period from Jan. 11-14.

Coaches are only allowed to have contact with recruits who have been admitted for mid-year enrollment.

New USC coach Ed Orgeron reportedly told Tennessee mid-year enrollees, who were supposed to start school today, to not go to class and that there would be scholarships waiting for them at USC. It has been reported here: Orgeron story

If Orgeron is acting for USC, as it certainly appears he is, where does that leave them?

Not too sure you can trust a UT site to get the minor points about the no contract period right at this point. However USC wasn’t recruiting most of those kids and wouldn’t be even with Kiffin as HC. No need to get out of state kids when the Trojans remaining scholarships were already spoken for with in-state ones. Doesn’t pass the logic test.

Love it! I’m wondering if they will throw on additional sanctions from the Bush mess for the violations Kiffin already had in Knoxville…

Anonymous

Garrett must be so proud of Orgeron just like basketball under Floyd it takes them less then one day to try to go around NCAA rules.

I personally hope that a new President comes in to SC and gets rid of Garrett. While you mike argue, his foolishness helps UCLA, I prefer the Pac-10 to be known as the conference with standards and integrity and to become the conference known for its cheating like some of the southern conferences.

Anonymous

According to the LA Times he has been at the USC Athletic Department Offices working since last night. So if this report is true it is pretty hard to claim he is calling as a Tennessee coach even if he is technically still under their contract.

It appears the slime in the 2009 Tennessee program went beyond the head coach!

bob85354

Jon you blow…. Bring back Dohn!!!!

Anonymous

About the dead period and not being able to contact recruits? Interesting SI post saying that UCLA contacted the family of a Tennessee mid-year enrollee. Check it out: Back in the land of conventional wisdom, something a little less unusual happened on Tuesday in Duncan, S.C. Gary Willis was about to drive his son, Brandon, to Knoxville so he could enroll at Tennessee on Wednesday. When Brandon learned Kiffin had bolted, the Willis men stayed put.

“We won’t be going to Tennessee now,” the elder Willis told SI.com.

Willis had narrowed his choices to UCLA, North Carolina and Tennessee. He announced his commitment to Tennessee during Saturday’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio. The elder Willis said the family had spoken to UCLA and North Carolina coaches on Tuesday night after the Kiffin news broke.

The NCAA rules are so ridiculous. How could anybody read through their hypocrisy is unbelievable.

Anonymous

I love the madness, makes for a better bitter rivalry.

Fan4Life

Could be a technicality, but there may be a difference between contacting a recruit and speaking with the family(parents or Willis’ father in this case). Unless there is a NCAA bylaw that says the family of a player can’t be contacted either during the dead period.

Anonymous

The dead period allows one phone call to recruits per week. Orgeron was not breaking an NCAA rule unless he had already called the recruits in question this week and his calls last night were his second call to said recruits this week.

He did however violate any sense of propriety and fairness to his former employer (UT). In addition there is an unwritten rule that if you leave for another institution you dont actively try to take kids you had recruited to that institution. His actions last night and SC trying to throw money at Chow three weeks before siging day combined should be considered a formal declaration of war against UCLA and all of the other member instituions of the NCAA.

I hope the apparently impotent NCAA does something about it. I fear they will not.

Anonymous

There is also a distinct difference between a coach initiating contact and a recruit initiating contact. Recruits are permitted to initiate the contact.

This particular rule exists to prevent coaches from multiple schools overwhelming recruits in the final days. It gives the recruits a break. But, if the recruit initiates contact, it is clear that the recruit wants the contact and does not need a break. It is in the recruits best interest to be able to speak with the coach in that case.

Also, if Orgeron is not technically a coach, he is at a minimum a booster because of his professed tie in with the school now. So, his actions as a proxy for the school should be imputed to the school… same would apply to a UCLA booster.

dan o’brien

Isn’t this a UCLA blog?

OC Bruin

Willis just committed to N.C.

UCLAVES

I see Randall Telfer’s Facebook page is down. Is it because USC boosters and alums (Chris Claiborne, etc.) were having significant contact with recruits during a dead period?

UB (Ultimate Bruin)

@ Dan O’brien: Yes, this is a UCLA blog. We are discussing an improtant breaking stroy involving Pac 10 football. Last time I checked, UCLA is in the Pac 10.

LAME Kiffin is a GREAT hire from the UCLA perspective. He is an arrogant, mouthy, cheating slime ball. Just the kind of guy we Bruins will LOVE to hate. And we can hate from day 1 !!!

Let’s hope that Chow stays, but if he goes, so be it! “This is the business we chose!”

GO BRUINS! CRUSH THE PROPHYLACTICS!

ev

You don’t even know who called who, just that a phone call happen. Orgeron could have called a third party (like the kids HS coach) in order for the recruit to call him back which is legal. After all, that tactic is used all the time by coaches some think are above reproach.

Reformed Droog

@ UB

His mistake – he thought this was the UCLA intramural athletics website…

Anonymous

dont think orgeron violated any rules. are you stupid?

UB (Ultimate Bruin)

SCumbags are SCumbags. Even if they leave for a while like LAME and O. They are perfect fits for SC, I’m telling you!

SUC (sic) in se malum est!

Anonymous

This is why I miss Dohn. Jon, what exactly are you trying to say?

This isnt a violation and recruits can contact coaches if they initiate it.

BE REAL

I was depressed only for 1 day. Now I am happy again.

I like Lane Kiffin. He is a perfect fit at USC. Hanging off his Dad’s sweaty ballsack for his job is definitely the “Trojan Family” way.

BE REAL

DoubleBruin

This was posted on a Vol blog. The new recruits put their phones on speaker so that everyone could here what Orgeron was doing.

Check out this article by Michael Rosenberg at SI.com:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/michael_rosenberg/01/13/usc/index.html?xid=si_topstories
including, among other choice quotes:
“It is the same Kiffin who torches so many relationships, he might as well dip his finger in lighter fluid before he shakes hands. Kiffin’s mouth poses such a danger to the people around him that when he goes through airport security, he has to remove his tongue. USC doesn’t care about any of it. I think Garrett saw the recent ESPN documentary on Miami’s football program and thought it was an instructional video.” and,
“And sadly, he is right. Kiffin gets to run off to USC, where all they care about is winning. Lane Kiffin and USC deserve each other. This marriage is both absurd and perfect, all at once.”

Pretty well sums up the situation perfectly: while the TJ Techers are overjoyed with Kiffin, so should we Bruins!

BruinChick

I believe that if they are enrolled at an NCAA institution, a coach needs written permission from that institution to make contact – in any way.

What does everyone thing? The longer Chow remains silent the more likely he is to leave?

Jon, any idea who Neu would pursue if Chow leaves? I know Dohn previously claimed to know of a preference Neu had if the time came. Have you heard anything lately??

NEED INFO

*think

NEED INFO

Wolf is saying Leach!!?? Any word Jon?????????

BruinChick

If they were starting classes later in the day, they had to be enrolled in the university. How do you get classes without being enrolled?

spedjones

time to wake up Jon. Wolfie is scooping you all over the place. Norm’s price tag up to $1.5M? Leach as Norm’s replacement? Spit it out, Gold.

Anonymous

UB,

Is Chow a SCumbag?

NEED INFO

Is this where Jon shows his age (26)?

For some reason I imagine him sitting, wearing boxers and a tank top, eating a bowl of cereal and waving his hand at his laptop like “that can wait”.

Sid

I believe you can be registered and enrolled, but until you actually ATTEND classes, you don’t officially attend the school. I believe that is the technicality exploited by Orgeron.

Anonymous

It’s the best situation for all parties:

-Cheatey Petey: All flames and imminent NCAA wrath will be squarely on Kiffin. As Kiffin will gladly take the flame to fuel his notoriety. When you are already operating at the gutter level, what’s more sh_t going to do to you and your program. I mean, look, there isn’t any mention of Carroll anymore in the last 24 hours since the Kiffin hire. He may even have helped chip in for it.

-SUC: Since no respectable coach will touch the program, who is better out there AND actually came out of this sh_t pot AND have no problem making this pot bigger and stinkier? Instead of seeing a good recruting class being devoured by other programs, why not try to keep some recruits and better yet, cannibalize another program (Tenn) while doing it. NCAA is probably the only four letter word that is not taught or used at SUC.

-Kiffin: The guy doesn’t coach. The coach is his daddy. It’s his intangibles: pushing the limits in terms of appropriateness, decency, class, ruthlessness, you name it. He has no place at Tenn or in the SEC and he knows it. Why not add to your resume by leaving yet another program in shambles?

-Garrett: What a brilliant move to save face. There are plenty of money at stake here. The sh_t is gonna hit the fan anyways, why not make some fireworks with it?

NEED INFO

Maybe Jon is at the same place PC was last weekend when he went “twitter silent”. Or even better where Norm Chow is now…

BearBryant3

USC is talking to Norm Chow and salary figures being discussed are between $1-1.5 million per season. Good pick up for UCLA if they can get Leach to come, there going to have to pay him at least 1 million+. According to ESPN Mike Leach and Skip Holtz contacted by South Florida for Head Coaching Job. Both Interested.

brewnz

Man, you guys are crazy. Last night people were peeved because Jon followed the Mancow Smith story and posted it (which proved erroneous). Now you want him to report the same rumor and innuendo Wolfe is passing on from Colon Cowturd. Let’s wait until there is official info before getting worked up about Leach. Chow hasnt even agreed to anything. The $UC publicity-o-meter (Smith, Wolfe, et al) are working overtime and broadcasting misinformation.

Let’s wait for the real news before buying into these “reach” stories.

Woody

You might want to bone up on your NCAA terminology there, Jon. He called them, he didn’t contact them…that is is an important distinction according to the NCAA. And yes, recruits may be called during the dead period.

I am amazed that people who are self styled experts on what constitutes an NCAA violation are unfamiliar with rather entry-level terminology such as this.

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